The new NLB is actually called the Lee Kong Chian Reference
Library. It is primarily meant to be a Reference Library, not a
Lending Library. This means that the collection inside is of
reference quality, and should not be lent out in the first
place.
In a way this library caters to the more "serious" crowd, people
who genuinely need information. Thats why the Lending Section is in
the Basement. This seperates the more casual and "loud" crowd from
thronging the Reference Section.
The reason why NLB went with such a library is because the old
Stamford Road Library is simply not big enough to cater to all the
books that NLB wishes to put up for reference. At that time, they
had a lot of good books and no place to shelve them, in the end
most were placed at the closed stacks at Changi. This is not a
recent development, the physical shortcomings of the old Stamford
building surfaced many years ago.
